Ford to Invest $740 Million to Revive Michigan Central Station

Ford is investing $740 million to renovate a former rail station, Michigan Central, into a new campus housing up to 5,000 employees.

Specifically, the site will be used for its self-serving unit, Ford Autonomous Vehicles, which will be housed separately from corporate headquarters.

In all, the project is expected to take four years, with a proposal to seek partial coverage by taxpayer money to the tune of $250 million. Funds will go towards purchasing the building, land, and related projects.

?[We are] working with federal, state and local economic development groups and officials, seeking at least $250 million in tax or other incentives to support the development of the five Corktown sites Ford has purchased,? said Ford in a statement.

Ford?s latest move marks its intensified commitment to developing self-driving vehicles, with past moves including a $1 billion ownership stake in AI company Argo AI, Corktown campus development costs, and $4 billion in total investment money planned through 2023 for various Ford Autonomous Vehicles operations.

The site of Michigan Central is a well-known a symbol of urban decay and stagnant manufacturing in the 60s and 70?s, preceding a 2009 proposal to demolish it before plans were eventually scrapped. Built in 1913, it was the largest train station in the world before it closed in 1988. Now, it hopes to achieve a second life.